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My First Mac

Hooked on Macs, New and Old

Simon Royal - 2008.07.15

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I've been into computing for over 15 years, but I didn't see the Apple light until 2001. I had always liked Macs, but they were way out of my budget. I started working for a publishing house and was using an old Quadra. Even though it was old, it was amazing. It was my first experience of OS 9, and it fantastic. I was then bought an iMac G3 to work on.

beige Power Mac G3

My first Mac at home was a Beige G3, which I managed to convince my employer to let me have as they weren't using it and it ran OS 9. It wasn't the fastest machine, but I loved it, hooked up to a PC monitor and with a 14.4 kbps serial modem.

I had this for a few months and really got to grip with OS 9, but was using OS X 10.1 at work and decided to buy an iMac G3 Indigo running 10.2 Jaguar, and it rocked.

I kept this for over a year until I decided to buy a brand new eMac with 10.3 Panther. I kept the eMac for over two years until the Intel calling became too great, and I purchased my 17" Intel iMac Core Duo.

I developed a liking for older Macs; it amazed me how well these performed even with the latest operating system.

Power Mac G4 Cube I currently own an Intel iMac Core Duo (original model), PowerMac G4 Cube (modded to be transparent and with a UV cooling fan installed), a PowerBook G3 'Lombard', and an iMac G3 DV 'Snow'.

Besides the ones I own, I have had a PowerMac G3 Beige, iMac G3 'Indigo' (twice), PowerBook G3 'Lombard', PowerBook G3 'WallStreet', PowerBook G4 'Titanium', iBook G3 white, iBook G3 Clamshell 'Indigo', PowerBook 1400cs, eMac G4, PowerMac G3 'B&W', PowerMac G4 'Sawtooth', Mac Classic II as well as some very retro machines, a Classic II, an LC II, and SE. I even owned a Newton 2000.

I developed my knowledge from upgrading and modding hardware, pushing them to the extreme, and digging into each incarnation of the Mac OS from OS 7 through to the latest version of Mac OS X.

I love Macs and the whole Apple operating system and ethos. I love surrounding myself with Apple hardware. I am a member of many Mac mailing lists and use my experience and knowledge to help other Mac users.

I have written and designed a website also dedicated to everything Mac and helping other users at www.simonroyal.co.uk.

My kids are all brought up on Macs, all owning their own piece of Apple history, and I will not allow a Windows-laden machine into my house.

Share the story of your first Mac experience by emailing with "My First Mac" as your subject.

Recent My First Mac articles

Thanks for the IBM PC, Dad, 01.09. Dad, thanks for bringing home that first IBM PC way back in 1981.
Overclocking a Mac mini Got Me Hooked on Souping Up Macs, 09.04. Stories of hot rodding iBooks, G3 iMacs, and PCI Power Macs on the cheap.
Mac LC III Still a Most Useful Machine, 07.30. A love affair that will last as long as they make Macs began with a used LC III in 1997, and it's still being used today.
With a 600 MHz iBook running circles around a 2.8 GHz Celeron, it was time to switch, 06.05. The author now has a MacBook, along with a couple of older, cheaper Macs for use around the house.
More in the My First Mac index.

Links for the Day

Mac of the Day: 17" iMac G4/800 MHz, July 2002 - The iMac 'grows up' with a 17" 1440 x 900 display.
Group of the Day: LisaList supports Lisa users.
November 8 in LEM history: 99: OS 9: I think I like it - 01: The simplified Mac life - Soured on Windows - Flea market Mac - 02: Little room for improvement in new 'Books - Combo drive upgrade for iceBooks - 04: Re-Porter - 05: Fix the old iMac or buy a Mac mini? - Apple's Copland project - 06: MacBook Core 2 - MacBook value equation - Cheap is as cheap does - 07: Problems with Classic mode in Tiger - The G4 Power Mac that won't run Leopard
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